In Your Eyes
by AbandonWolf3
Summary: Byakuran, a 25 year old office worker living the life in southwest Paris, has a past he wanted or needed to return to by the time he had the chance.But then, can a certain heterochromatic  eyed, indigo haired man rekindle past relationships? AU, 69100
1. Chapter 1

Since I was reading a lot of FF for the meantime, I decided to put up my own series in AU. This is one of my favorite pairings in the Reborn! Universe, 69100/10069. Somehow, the idea of the setting being in France amuses me a lot especially reminds me of the same guy in Hetalia. –shot- But please, R&R. This is my first story, please appreciate it.

I also apologize for the grammatical errors though.

In Your Eyes.

Set in Paris, France. _Bon appetit._

* * *

><p>It wasn't really a predicament in France that you would be seeing painters, artists and models roaming all around Paris. It was somehow a normal image in the life of a normal journalist who took his time sleeping in an apartment near the Eiffel Tower, without anyone to disturb him.<p>

Paris was a splendid city.

You would be able to see ladies being wrapped around the fingers of gentlemen who managed to capture their hearts in clubs, limousines driving around the plaza and the fountains bringing light and life to the streets. There would be cars drifting in the highways from the clear view above the rooftops, and the Place de la Bastille could be photographed with a high definition camera with no more a mile away.

Surely, the city would be noted of the La Defense arrondissement where a certain lavender-eyed albino can be seen driving his Ferrari along the paths towards his house, carrying several groceries at the back seat. Trees were bringing up the vivid green color of the pastures on the front lawns of the houses, along with cars of different brands and sorts parked along the sidewalk. The road was a bit too wide for people to come along; it was simply dangerous for anyone to cross especially when someone was driving at a good 80 kilometers per hour.

He was living in a noted key suburban city southwest of Paris, but sometimes, this man considered living in the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, where luxury was at its finest.

The man was at his mid-20s, a small tattoo can be seen marking below his left eye. He hummed discreetly as he entered the garage and parked it alongside the long line of bicycles near the toolboxes. He seemed serene as he pressed a button on his car keys, closing the garage doors as he jumped out of the cab.

"I'm home," The man greeted at the back door of the kitchen as he went to bring in the groceries.

"Byakuran!" A young green haired girl with short, cropped hair greeted him with a running hug as he placed the bags on the counter. The girl's mother, who seemed to have the same appearance yet older and long hair tied in a ponytail behind her head, smiled and helped pick up the rest from the car.

Byakuran smiled at the small child and patted her head.

"I'm finally back~"

* * *

><p>Byakuran took his time to reside in the privacy of his room, after playing with his 'younger sister' Yuni, and helping out her mother Aria in the kitchen.<p>

The walls were painted with a thick white, small picture frames hung themselves on the wall above his study desk. He had a small photo in a frame standing beside his laptop, which reminded him of the days he had back in high school.

There was a redhaired boy with glasses whom he had an arm slung around his own shoulder by Byakuran himself, and beside him was a blond tall guy with a curl on the left side of his head with a lollipop being chewed absentmindedly in his mouth. Beside Byakuran was an indigo haired teen that had strange pineapple hair that was noticeable on his features. He had an unusual red right eye with a Japanese kanji number in it. Not far from them were two Japanese teenagers who was taller than the other, the other had a grinning look on his face unlike the other having a near scowl on his lips.

Byakuran stared in wonder at the pictures, a string of thoughts passing through his mind. He reminded himself before that it would've been better if he had gone back to the past, and made things better towards the present.

He wasn't able to control time and space though, so it was all damn useless.

But would he want to go through the same cycle again?

* * *

><p>The next day Byakuran left his house early, meeting along with Gamma in the living room. He found the light blond man polishing his billiard cues on the table, along with Yuni sleeping on his lap.<p>

"I'll be going, Dad." He remarked, catching the old man's attention from his work. Gamma instead waved in dismissal to the albino, returning his focus to his cleaning. Byakuran sometimes wondered on why he came to put up with a family like this, but he knew that he had nowhere to go…

…for he was only an orphan.

He knew when he was adopted by Luce, Aria's mother, when she was still alive. Unfortunately, she died a few years past, her smile was only the one replaying and reappearing on his head everytime they spoke of her.

However, he shrugged off the fact as he arrived in his workplace, an office somewhere in one of the tall buildings in La Defense. He could see the cars whirring around early in the morning as people were walking briskly in the streets, as of 6: 30 in the morning. His eyes widened at the surprise awaiting him on his desk.

Orchids.

Were.

Everywhere.

There was a single bouquet wrapped in designed plastic that sat in the middle of all the folders, along with a small placard on one of the orchids flung on his documents.

_Hello._

_-Leo. _

* * *

><p>If you want to guess who's Leo, it's up to you. :D<p>

-AbandonWolf3 signing out.


	2. Chapter 2

Welcome to the second chapter of In Your Eyes.

Since I didn't get that much detailed with the first, Byakuran's 25 in here, along with Shouichi, Spanner, Yamamoto, and Hibari. More details will be exposed in the further chapters, I promise.

Here you go. The second chapter~

_**Rewritten: 4/13/12**_

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The bouquet was still there when Byakuran came back to fetch a cup of coffee from the vending machine. He thought for a while with what to do with the said bouquet and two questions came in his mind.

First, who the hell bothered to send him those orchids?

He wasn't a _girl_ for Pete's sake and his officemate, Skull, was snickering at him. He could hear the other man laugh from the opposite side of the wall covering his part of the office. He should've gotten a knife to just get the guy to shut the _fuck_ up.

And second, who's Leo?

Byakuran himself knew that he'd met a lot of people in the span of his 15 years of living with Luce, along with watching over Yuni as a baby. He had friends in high school and even college too, but who was this Leo guy bothering to send him flowers?

"Byakuran, get to work."

A light haired man stood by the doorframe of the office space of the entire room. He was dressed in a black polo shirt with a purple tie with a small nameplate on his breast pocket that read _Alaude_. There were less people around there, and Byakuran could see a typical lawnhead peeking from his quarters from beside Skull's desk.

"What's the extreme fuss all about?" he asked, scratching his head as he drank his coffee.

"Nothing, Ryohei. " Byakuran motioned as the lawnhead slumped back into his seat and gobbled on his breakfast. The albino caught sight of Alaude walking up to his desk. He took away the bouquet and replaced it with his laptop and mug of coffee. Yet he didn't notice that the placard was left on top of the sprawled documents where Leo's name was written on it. Alaude, having noticed the said placard firsthand, picked it up.

"Herbivore, I've seen them earlier before you even stepped inside." He said, throwing the placard swiftly back at the white haired man, who caught it in between a pair of fingers.

"Did you see anyone come here earlier, Alaude?"He mused.

"No. The bouquet was already there when I got here. The door was already open." Alaude replied, dropping a new stack of documents on the albino's desk. "Sort these out. Tell Elena if you're done," then he left without a spare glance.

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.

Later that afternoon, about two o'clock, Byakuran went out of the building, after a good 10 minutes of waiting in the elevator to go down from the 14th floor to the lobby. If he chose to drive his car, it would be a waste of his 5 minutes and a liter of fuel. He was going to curse himself for looking at those goddamn oil prices.

He strolled along the sidewalk, watching as cars were drifting on the highways. It was a normal sight for an office worker like him, despite that he earned at least 900 Euros a day and he owned a Ferrari which he shipped from Italy. He himself was Italian too, along with the adoptive family he was living with now, even though they lived in Japan for a start.

He was knocked out of his blissful daze when a familiar man bumped into him and dropped his books onto the other's lap.

"Byakuran?"

The albino blinked as he knelt down and picked up the dropped books on the path. He perked up, seeing a familiar, _too familiar_ blond man with curly hair that stared back into his lavender eyes and with the irrevocable lollipop sticking out of his mouth.

"Spanner?"

"Oh good god." Said Spanner as Byakuran threw himself on the other man, capturing him in a tight hug. It was as though those 6 years of separating himself with his odd circle of friends had ended, or not. Spanner had given him a push just as the albino released him.

"I never imagined that you would be in France already, Spanner!"

The blond male sighed, arranging his things in his bag. "My grandfather took me here for a robotics competition with Shouichi."

"Shouichi? Shouichi Irie? Shou-chan's also here?" Byakuran asked in glee.

"Well—"Spanner was cut off by a voice behind him.

"S—Spanner! Why'd you—"

The voice stopped as a redhead with headphones around his neck came into view. He panted heavily upon halting behind Spanner, also carrying a handful of groceries on his arms. The smaller one looked up at Byakuran, who had somehow an idiotic grin on his face.

.

.

"It's been years, Byakuran. You still haven't changed for the while." Spanner mused with a lighthearted chuckle as he sipped his cappuccino and bit off a piece of strawberry shortcake from his plate. Shouichi was staring out the window with drowsy eyes.

"Have I?" Byakuran smiled, sipping on his mocha coffee as he stared at Shouichi.

Shouichi yawned into the glass, seeing his breath through it. "We missed you, Byakuran-san."

"Eh?"

"Well, you've been gone for a long time and the others were looking for you right after graduation. Hibari, Yamamoto and Mukuro went their own ways though. Spanner and I stuck up throughout these years of college competing in competitions and earning money by jobs, but we never expected that you moved in Paris. It's a huge city!" Shouichi said in a worried tone.

"Right you are, Shou-chan. But it wasn't my choice to move here. Luce and her family wanted to move to here from Japan and of course, I went too," Byakuran sighed, "yet I couldn't help but reminisce our good old days of high school."

The thin air dispersed into silence, but was soon broken when Byakuran rummaged through his office jacket and showed them the placard he received earlier morning. "Do you know who this guy?" He pointed to the lower part of the placard, _Leo. _

"Hmm…seems familiar." Spanner declared as he sipped on his mug of coffee. Byakuran raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, isn't that Mukuro's pseudonym?" Shouichi interjected.

"What?"

"Leo. Leonardo Lippi. The famous chef from France. Doesn't it ring a bell?" Spanner said, in a tone that made Byakuran recall back unwanted memories.

.

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"_I love you, Muku-chan." Byakuran confessed, clenching his fists until they turned white on his knuckles. He stood behind the indigo haired man who planned to become a culinary artist someday, and yet they were on the rooftop, at least a meter away from each other, drowned in silence._

_Mukuro was standing right there, among the stunned faces of Spanner, Shouichi, Yamamoto and Hibari. Hibari didn't care though, but he just stared in shock. They had headed up to the rooftop to eat but they caught the two standing in a distance from one another. Shouichi and Yamamoto were gaping, while Spanner was only blinking from his position. No one of them expected that Byakuran would confess now, especially all of them knew that they treated each other like brothers of the same family._

_The pineapple haired was currently in shock of Byakuran's statement right now. He only took Byakuran's showcases of affection towards him as a form of friendship but the albino himself sounded that he wanted more than that. _

_Affections were quite noticeable in their circle of friends. Yamamoto would normally sling his arm around the raven haired prefect's neck and the latter wouldn't bother or even care to bite him to death. Spanner, on the other hand, was clearly showing how much he liked Shouichi by helping out in homework, projects, etc. with the redhead and Byakuran. Byakuran himself gave Mukuro a warm hug and hot chocolate every morning or his homemade lunch for school. Yet the latter wouldn't show anything back. He was an epitome of grief and hate, but not to his younger sister Chrome._

_Despite all of this, Byakuran wondered how would Mukuro would be able to like him back, or even love him so. He made the other man blush sometimes, not matter the faintest of blushes showed up on his face, Byakuran would still see it. Byakuran was a cheerful, carefree guy after all, having his love of white and marshmallows, and also his popularity in school. But Mukuro was quite the contrast to him._

_Mukuro absolutely hated anything white, but he couldn't live without it. _

_It was something of a nightmare he had during his childhood, something that really bothered him until the present. However, Byakuran changed it all from the moment they met. Even though Mukuro had a bad impression on his fellow Italian, Byakuran tried his best to be friends with the guy, and eventually did. _

_No reply was heard. The albino's world seemed to break down. _

_._

_._

Within the apartment near the Eiffel Tower, a piano tune can be heard from the window of the apartment room of a certain pineapple haired man. Calloused fingers can be heard playing by themselves on the keys of the seemingly old piano that had dust seeping from the edges of the stand. The room had walls plastered with navy blue, nearly matching the occupant's hair color. The moment the tune stopped, the man turned to look at himself in the mirror, right beside the bedside table, and sighed inwardly.

He stood up from his seat, grabbed the DSLR camera on his study desk and shut the door right after he walked out. His mind was wandering to La Defense, whether to pull up his disguise or take more pictures in his album. The small ID dangling around his neck was labeled _Mukuro Rokudo_, a name which he tried to hide for so many years. He went to the park and took more landscape pictures of the random people passing by, remembering the single thing he planned on his mind.

He had to meet that guy again, that's for sure.

.

.

"You still remember—"

"Oh just shut up now, Shou-chan. _Please._"

The said man laughed inwardly to himself until he was shot by a dangerous glare by the albino.

"I don't want to remember."

"Are you sure?" Spanner said, pulling them along the sidewalk.

"He's around Paris, I've heard. And it won't be long until you see him again." He added.

Byakuran stopped momentarily behind the two, his hands curling into a fist.

"It won't be."

.

.

And so, that's the end of the second chapter of In Your Eyes. Actually, Mukuro here is actually a photojournalist, and a chef in secret. Byakuran had to put up with six years of nearly forgetting the fact that he had unrequited love for the pineapple head.

Anyways, R&R~

-AbandonWolf3 signing out.


	3. Chapter 3

Welcome to another installment of In Your Eyes.

I'm going to make a few changes in the summary and it slightly hurts me without reviewers. ;_;

But anyways, the show must go on. The setting's going to be much in La Defense, as described in the first chapter. Honestly, the city's very fascinating even though I haven't gone to France before.

Enjoy and R&R!

_**Rewritten: 4/13/12**_

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_Life has many ways of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once._

.

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The day passed with another bag of marshmallows and sweet strawberry lollipops.

And then add a scarred redhead on top.

Byakuran wasn't really the kind of person you would see to cuss loudly in his room, sputtering out nonsense and his face exploding into intense embarrassment. As if he was going to show it to them, of course

And apparently, thanks to a certain blonde mechanic (who was idly chewing his lollipop as if it _never_ ran out), the worst had happened.

All resulting to a laughing redhead and a smirking mechanic. _Heaven-forbid that Byakuran was only a tsundere and __**not **__a yandere._(Which is, my readers, quite the opposite of this guy here.)

Spanner and Shouichi had bid themselves goodbye after Byakuran had threatened them to shut up with a nasty scowl on his face. After all, Byakuran was _still so polite _not to kick the two guys out just because Aria was there. Gamma had taken Yuni out to the park while Byakuran was working back in his office. The said albino sat down and breathed calmly into the palm of his hands as it was growing colder by the minute. It was already October and it was freezing him (if possible) to death.

Thanks to kindhearted Luce's warm white scarf she made for him a few years back kept him warm and comfy for all those cold occasions.

He took that single piece of fabric from his wardrobe and wrapped it snugly around his neck. It was just so fun to see those two again, he thought quietly to himself.

.

.

After a few hours later or so, Byakuran found himself back into his office right after politely apologizing to Alaude about his sudden disappearance, along with interrupting the said man's _almost _affair with a watermelon head working in the same building. He just walked right into them in Alaude's office, nearly all of their clothes on the floor and their mouths crashing upon each other. Byakuran wisely decided that he would leave immediately at once after a fierce glare from the blond and a nervous chuckle from the other man, who was apparently his lover, named Daemon.

He was met with stacks of paperwork left on his desk, covering half of his table. He sighed and retreated to his seat, starting to sort out papers and eventually getting another cup of coffee, which was not part of his routine.

What an unusual day it is.

.

.

Mukuro soon was wearing a sweater he wore around his waist earlier and he stopped taking pictures, moving on to the Arc De Triomphe with his own car. He drove around the streets, avoiding the motorway. He was near to his actual workplace, chest tensing of another recipe he had to create in the small span of an hour and thirty minutes.

He remembered the mail he sent earlier morning to someone in the business district, smirking as he thought about it. He parked in the basement, and then putting on his disguise as Leonardo Lippi as he leapt out of the car and walked inside the building.

The show must go on.

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.

"Yo Byakuran, you okay there?" Skull asked, handing the man a fresh mug of coffee with his other hand. Byakuran was apparently having a low mood in his office, which meant that there was a dark cloud and heavy rain falling on his head without getting his face wet. It was a rare sight to be seen in the office space of the said branch of the French company and normally, it was either Ryohei or Byakuran to rise up the spirits in the whole room. Ryohei was out to meet someone (more like a date) for a few days away from work, so Byakuran was left. Skull, being the nice guy he is, approached the guy which what he was doing right now.

"I'm okay." _Hell no. How can I feel OKAY if someone pisses you off and makes you snap at the most beautiful part of the day? Thanks, Spanner. Thanks for being a sadistic bastard to me. _

Skull could even read what was on Byakuran's mind now, and surely he himself had been a good friend of the albino for three years ever since he got himself into this business. He sighed, and sat down quietly.

"Coffee break?"

"…Fine."

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Approximately 11 minutes later, Byakuran found himself sitting across Skull, who was stirring his spoon his mug of cappuccino as he looked out of the clear glass window. He had his own mug too, but he had a small slice of strawberry shortcake ordered along with it. It was Skull's treat, one of the many times Skull tried to cheer him up, being the key word _tried_, but nevertheless the man in front of him had been a good friend in business.

They heard the television being turned on as one barista pointed the remote on the TV near the employee's lounge, which can be seen by most people in the café.

"Welcome to _Maître de Cuisine_,

…hosted by…Leonardo Lippi!"

A loud applause can be heard among the audiences from the speakers of the LCD screen. Both Byakuran and Skull had their eyes glued on it, not when Skull had coughed as in 'ahem'.

"_Leo_ huh?"

No answer. The said workmate was still distracted by the man cooking on the TV, not until his good friend flicked him on the forehead.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You were staring."

"Sorry."

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.

Somehow, the apparently short conversation ended with a few goodbyes and bread taken home from the café. Skull and Byakuran hadn't talked much, except for the fact that the latter said a few embarrassing things Byakuran hadn't or couldn't admit to his face. The white-haired man took a leisurely walk back to the basement parking and let himself drive down the highway.

He swore to himself not to look at that man's eyes on the TV screen and _not _stare, stare and stare at him for more than a minute longer. Yet there was this tiny man in his chest that longed to see that man again. Byakuran was doubtful of that fact, not that he would admit it to his friends' faces. It's just that he happens to flush inwardly on his cheeks when Mukuro or even the mention of the guy is near to him.

What was his problem now?

.

.

Meanwhile, somewhere near an airport, two men emerged from the doors, carrying their luggage and briefcases. One had a goofy grin plastered on his face while the other was occupied to someone on the other line of his phone.

"I see."

"_But shouldn't we meet up in the business district, Hibari-san?"_

"Herbivore, you should know I—" the man beside him interjected _we_"—I mean we had only arrived from Belgium and could you not rush things now, Irie? Or should I bite you to death once we meet?"

"_I...I" _The phone seemed to move away from the speaker as Hibari noticed in the noise._ "Konbanwa, Hibari-san."_

"Spanner. Should I remind you that we aren't associated in any kind of way?"

"_I humbly apologize for the trouble earlier. But though, please take a day's rest. Shall we meet in La Defense by then?"_

Hibari paused, but uttered in his usual stern tone. "Do we have rooms?"

"_Our treat. Since the competition would be tomorrow, I might say I would pay for the rooms we have at the hotel when Shouichi and I are staying. I'll send you a message for the address. Is that alright, Hibari-san?"_

"Fine for me. Get two. The idiot's here with me."

"_See you around then. Have a nice day." _

The phone call ended as Yamamoto finished placing their possessions at the trunk of the taxi he'd called while Hibari was talking. Yamamoto gestured him towards the door, to which Hibari quietly obliged. The text message arrived a minute after the call ended and Hibari showed it to the driver. Nodding, the two made their way to the city.

"So we're having a grand reunion then, Kyoya?"

"Shut it, Takeshi. I'm not excited for this matter. I have business to do here."

"Aw, why the killjoy? Aren't you happy to see our longtime friends again?"

"It's nothing like it as you imply, idiot. I have my matters to attend to, and you only just came along."

"But don't you like it?"

"Then why are you asking me useless questions, herbivore?"

"I'm just curious. You've been working so hard lately and I have yet to see that you actually sleep."

"…"

Yamamoto shifted closer and sighed. He glanced slightly into Hibari's direction. "You do know I worry a lot about you."

"Shu—" Hibari was cut off by a pair of lips capturing his own. Yamamoto had kissed him, but he was hesitatingly kissing back. The other had pulled closer and kissed deeper. However, due to the lack of breath, Hibari pushed him away, licking his lips.

Yamamoto chuckled, but there was a darker tone to his voice. "But you shouldn't forget that I haven't kissed you properly ever since we got on the plane."

A faint blush found their way to Hibari's cheeks. Thank God that it was dim lit for him to see the color on his face.

"…Whatever."

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_[La Defense,Paris]_

With what seemed an hour later, Yamamoto and Hibari found them greeted by Spanner in the hotel lobby along with their bags being taken to their rented rooms. They were treated with dinner in one of the restaurants, and continued their short talk after the waiter took their orders.

"So…any plan for a reunion?" Yamamoto cheered, stirring his Frappuccino with his straw. Hibari on the other hand, chose to retire in his room of the jetlag. Spanner, who sat across him calmly sipped on his mocha espresso.

"Probably."

"Where's Shouichi?"

"He's asleep upstairs. He still has those horrible stomachaches he had when he was a child. He's yet to change."

"He passed out?"

"As it seems so, yes."

"Too bad." Yamamoto sighed and sipped his vanilla milkshake. "I've heard Byakuran was living here. How's he?"

Yamamoto perked up slightly from his drink. Byakuran residing in France hadn't reached his ears yet from the time he knew the other had to leave for some foreign country that he didn't know. He only knew that Hibari's cousin lived here and worked as a marketing supervisor.

"He's an office worker for the moment, but he earns pretty well."

"Like?"

"A thousand euros per day, maybe."

"That's nice. He could treat us sometime when he gets his butt off there."

Spanner chuckled at the snide. "I wonder."

They continued further into the night as they bid goodbye and headed toward their rooms on the upper floors of the building. It was always conventional to have Spanner always with them, since he and Shouichi somehow earned a few grand from their college days. But he wasn't the type to hang around after class. He always went straight home after last period. Even so, Spanner had been working since their high school days, repairing cellphones, laptops, for a good, affordable price.

Hibari, or more known as the Hibari Kyoya, was the head prefect of their school. Yamamoto Takeshi was the baseball star and Mukuro Rokudo was the culinary genius. Byakuran Gesso himself was the popular guy and Shouichi Irie was the infamous geek who managed to get out the bullies' way because of his friends surrounding him.

Together, they were a bunch of young men who caught the attention of most guys and girls in school. Even though Hibari and Mukuro argued often, Spanner reasoning out with either Shouichi and Byakuran or Hibari literally biting Yamamoto to death (his friends weren't exceptions to his threats anyway), they were still as a group, and somehow they help each other when they feel that one of them has a problem small or big. They wouldn't want to admit it, since Hibari detested crowds or being in any groups, and Spanner being the passive and aloof one.

They couldn't even escape the fact they had a lot of fanclubs in school though. Though together, Hibari was rarely seen together with them, only at some events or going home.

.

.

Byakuran reminisced on the balcony of his room, checking his phone every now and then. Shouichi had texted him earlier.

_See you tomorrow. _

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There's a bit of 8018 here so…enjoy. :D

-AbandonWolf3 signing out.


	4. Chapter 4

Ciao, ciao, minna-san!

Since this shit took me up a lot of days to write, read and then look at the second to the last word at the bottom. It helps. :D

Disclaimer [I hadn't placed this anywhere since the beginning of this fic]: AbandonWolf3 does NOT own Katekyo Hitman Reborn and all rights belong to Amano Akira.

_Love justifies acts that mere human beings cannot understand._

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"Byaku-chan~!"

Byakuran really needed help on his lousy start of the day, and thank goodness the new recruit managed to help him, named Lussuria.

Lussuria was …somewhat gay for the albino's taste. He wasn't seen without his eyeglasses or pink/color-assorted feather boas in his jackets, and probable gay voice that definitely gave Byakuran a shrill running down his spine. If Spanner was there, he would say Luss beat him to voice intensity.

He seemed to be on the Italian scheme as Byakuran himself but he had an aura that begged to differ. He could see it through the glasses as Byakuran unconsciously delivered a roundhouse kick to whoever poked him somewhere around his hip [which apparently triggered his tickle-induced laughing] and was flawlessly blocked by the man behind him with his arm. Facing Lussuria was no laughing matter though, especially when it came to judo and some other martial arts Byakuran wouldn't bother to guess right. But nevertheless, the man was extremely kind and willing to help to those who needed it. So much for Skull though, who didn't expect his early mug of coffee in the morning.

"Thanks Luss-san, please tell Alaude about my sudden leave." The albino mused, putting on his 100 megawatt smile.

The mother hen, as Byakuran chose to nickname him, happily giggled, much to his discomfort and said, "It's okay, my darling. Go on now. I bet you have matters to work on." He waved dismissively as Byakuran did the same to him amidst walking towards the elevator. Being popular gave so much luck to our white haired fellow, as if he was reminded of his high school memories.

Byakuran briskly walked past the door and the office dividers, Alaude giving him a curt nod in greeting, and Daemon following after with a stack of paperwork and envelopes. He slowly paused nearly to stop to glance at the two men quietly walking ahead of him in the opposite direction, and then continued to walk towards the steel plated elevator.

The couple who just went by just reminded him of that pineapple, thanks to the watermelon head following his boss who was apparently the said pineapple's cousin.

He avoided punching himself in the face, knowing the idiotic truth.

_He was desperate._

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Yamamoto chuckled in the booth where he and the rest of the group stayed waiting for Byakuran. The marshmallow king, as he dubbed it, was quite late and it was already getting into a particularly ex-prefect's nerves. Thanks to the idiot beside him, he tolerated the time with a cup of green tea.

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.

On the contrary, Spanner and Shouichi muttered lowly in their seats about the designs they came up for the contest. Sometimes, Hibari, as he sat across these herbivores, wondered how he got into this circle of 'friends' as Byakuran called it, and even bothered to cope up with them until this day. He was the top carnivore of Namimori, as everyone of the group knew, and came along with it was his pride that stood above nobody else's. Somehow, he hated when people thought of him turning soft already, something he bit to death whenever he bothered to think about it.

Hibari always had his tonfas at bay in his sleeves, and what surprised him that these people, from the baseball star to the culinary genius, were proficient at a certain weapon and a person with a weapon amused him to no end, especially those who gave him a good hour of bloodbaths.

Byakuran, as the opted head of the group itself, had been someone of an expert to fight barehanded with his fists and feet, along with a steel bo staff. But anyways, even without the long death-inducing pole, Byakuran was still dangerous. Hibari had seen it once, when Byakuran was defending his precious Shou-chan from an unfriendly group of thugs from school as they were about to mug him. The albino had his stance to be exact, apart from yawning and such, and just knocked them all out in the 6th time he blinked. That was only 5 and 34 seconds to be exact, as Shouichi had recorded in his timer-slash-wristwatch.

Mukuro was skilled at screwing with people's minds, and getting away with it of course. Every single one of the members of their group had been solely and _inappropriately_, to what Spanner mentioned the term as _mindfuck_ed by the said pineapple haired man. He was an illusionist in this funny yet strange world they lived in, and he was one of those psychics in the world who can just rip your conscious out of your mind**. Literally**. Mukuro had owned a trident and that crimson red right eye of his could send anyone into a bliss, or even Hell with that fact. Nonetheless, Mukuro always had his way with everyone and everyone within his radius of absolute presence knew not to piss him off. Unless your name is Hibari, Spanner, or Byakuran.

The baseball star wasn't really the star he was famed for in the school's reputation on the baseball team. In fact he was a wolf in sheep's clothing, as Hibari described it. Nothing more, nothing less, except that Yamamoto Takeshi was the type to have a goofy smile on his lips when he was fighting with Hibari even though nothing was discreetly funny in all aspects. Yamamoto is an idiot, and always will be, Hibari recalled quietly in his mind.

Spanner was the closest thing to a sadist, Hibari reminded himself, when he reminisced the time he directly asked him—more like ordered—the mechanic to fix his phone. And the events turned up neatly and bloody well. No questions asked. The mechanic had already said that he wasn't the type to hold a gun of any sort but he never mentioned that he had a halberd and a dual Glock on his person. And Hibari of all of people had been the first one to witness it.

Wasn't the type to hold a gun of any sort, eh?

Surely, Spanner was obviously lying to the formidable truth of Hibari seeing him hug Mukuro's second sister, Shouri along with Ugami as he cocked his Glock behind the two girls and fired a bullet at the sniper aimed at Ugami and had the guy deadshot. The pistol was equipped with a silencer, so there's no problem with it. And that was just Hibari crossing over the pedestrian lane carrying a bag or two of groceries. Ugami would have punched the mechanic in the face if it hadn't been a running hug and her life wasn't at stake. Shouri knew this, as Ugami was prideful as well as Hibari had been.

Ugami, as mentioned as the girl who was uncannily saved by the mechanic, was apparently Shouichi's lover despite the redhead's relationship with Spanner, who himself had his own lover too, who was Mukuro's younger sister and she had approved of Spanner and Shouichi's relationship for the past 6 years. But then, as time goes, the two girls remained to be supportive of the group and took the painful truths and mishaps about the concepts of 'being loved' and 'being cared for'.

There was something much more intriguing about Shouichi. The kid had been always somehow of a mystery in his eyes despite the obvious jumpiness in his movements when the prefect's around. Shouichi was absolutely terrified of Hibari, despite the fact the former had been going out with the latter's sister who managed to convince him that everything was going to be alright. Furthermore, what Hibari became interested in the red-haired herbivore was that he was a genius in a sort of a dark way that even Spanner ought to know. He would see a tiny, white Rubiks cube in his pocket and by any moment, he'd see Shouichi's perpetrator knocked out on the spot. Redheads were interesting indeed.

Hibari calmly took another sip of his green tea as he thought about the recurring events in their lives.

.

.

"I—I'm sorry for being late!" Byakuran panted as he arrived at the group's place in the restaurant he strolled over yesterday. He was still wearing his dress shirt and tie, along with his white hair still combed into the usual spikes.

The group was huddled up in the booth as so, perking up their heads when the albino showed up. But before that…Yamamoto was asleep, Hibari was reading a book; Spanner and Shouichi were still at the laptop; and a pineapple haired man wasn't present.

It gave a slight nostalgia for Byakuran in his mind; they rarely got together at this kind of thing. Mukuro wasn't seen when Hibari was there, When Mukuro was there, Hibari was absent. If either Shouichi or Spanner didn't show up, they were both there. When Byakuran was absent, no meetings were held or all of them are there without him. Somehow, Mukuro was the least present in their group meetings or gatherings in a random time or a random place. Even Shouichi had mentioned once to Byakuran that he really find it awkward when all of them are present. Byakuran would happily attest to that fact. Mukuro and Hibari were rivals at several points. Don't bother asking why.

"Erm…konnichiwa?"

"You're 15 minutes late, marshmallow king. I'll bite—"

"Kyouya." _Cue lowered tonfas with a sword added_.

"I'm sorry. There was traffic. You should've set up somewhere…_nearer_."

Shouichi smugly smirked. "Blame him," as he pointed his thumb towards the mechanic beside him, the latter frowning as he took out the lollipop he stuck in his mouth.

"I have my reasons, per se."

Byakuran sat beside Yamamoto as the latter offered, and then ordered a strawberry cheesecake and mocha Frappuccino to go along with it. Spanner remained calm at that point, rolling his tongue over the sugary treat in his mouth. It must be important, Byakuran thought, Spanner isn't always this serious.

"Mukuro's been on the wanted list for allegedly murdering an Italian diplomat."

Byakuran, who insisted to continue slurping that god-forsaken drink, choked in his throat.

"What?"

Spanner stared at Byakuran and Yamamoto with their shocked looks on their faces. Shouichi had known this yesterday and Hibari had been informed of it already. Yamamoto squawked in disbelief. The mechanic softly hissed to remind them to lower their voices as they were in a relatively less crowded place.

"It was over the news a few days ago, when Shouichi and I met you." The blonde gestured towards Byakuran in an inquisitive manner. Hibari took it for him to add a few details.

"We do not have proof about him being deemed innocent yet," Hibari opened an eye as they were closed, "but I don't believe that pineapple head would kill for a useless reason."

"He's still hunted by the Europol," he added.

"Onii-san isn't a murderer." A sudden voice came from behind them, which sounded a lot like the person they very talking about earlier. The small difference was it being a bit high-pitched yet in baritone. Hibari smirked at the corner of his lips as he could see Spanner idly twitch at the sight of a familiar blue-haired woman who was nearly at Mukuro's height, but with longer hair up to her waist and deep cobalt blue eyes that was staring right at the mechanic's soul.

A low squeak was followed by Spanner's immediate reaction to the girl, not one but two who had arrived in the café.

"U-Ugami-san!" Shouichi was apparently distracted by two hands covering his eyes from behind, as the booth had couches low enough to be bended over and seen from the other. The mentioned person giggled, taking her hands off and took the redhead by surprise with a kiss.

Byakuran was staring at awe at the scene in front of him. He was gone for a whole 6 years and many things had happened. Damn reality for smacking him in the face. He was the only one left out without a lover in the group.

He'd realized that he should've made his move sooner.

.

.

Shouichi sighed. "I never knew you would insist on following us all the way here, Ugami, and you brought Shouri too."

Ugami, who was a young woman who had the same yet softer attitude of Kyoya's and his tonfa to a higher extent, smiled and chuckled. "She was the one who insisted. I came along since I would be able to see Shouichi-kun~" Shouichi, who was sitting beside her, felt a shudder.

Spanner coughed, grabbing their attention for the second time.

"As I was saying," he said as the two girls began to order their food, "we should make our move to investigate the case. We can't let Mukuro be jailed to _reclusion perpetua_, right?"

All eyes darted towards Shouri. "…"

"Do you have your thoughts on this, Byakuran?"

No answer. "Byakuran-san?"

The said man looked up. "W—What?"

"Are you okay?" asked Shouri, who was still sipping on Spanner's drink," You seem distracted."

Byakuran waved his hand dismissively. "I'm alright. Go on."

.

.

He wasn't really listening in to the conversation. Byakuran was sitting quietly with them, trying to make out with his thoughts being clouded in his head. He knew that Mukuro wasn't one to kill people that easily, but why accuse him? He was worried for all the while, and as much he wanted to see the pineapple head, he didn't want to see him in a jail cell.

When Spanner had all of them dismissed, he felt a hand tugging at his shirt.

"Byakuran-san?" Shouri stared at him for a while, and then hugged the man around the waist, leaning her head on his chest. He had understood that this was the other sister of the Mukuro Rokudo. He had rarely seen them together, but only walking towards school in fact. Ugami and she were in the same grade, but they were friends instead of rivals that their siblings ought to become. But then, the fact of Ugami being stronger than her was something inevitable.

"We'll soon find your brother, Shouri. I promise that."

Yet he couldn't promise to bring to love her brother again, when he had the chance.

.

.

And that's a cliffhanger…sort of. Well anyways, this chapter took me longer than usual. But hey, there's not really 4851 in here, as my OC and kumoame8018's OC is here too. 

Ugami Hibari: 24 y/o, Japanese, architect, Hibari's younger sister, Shouichi's lover

Shouri Rokudo: 24 y/o, Italian, accountant, Mukuro's younger sister, middle child, Spanner's lover

Reviews, desu?


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